Dinner With The Boys at Flavors of Punjab

 Tuesday. April 27, 2022

Flavors of Punjab is a non-descript restaurant in a strip mall on Second St in Naples.  Saw it when we did a wine tasting at Wine on Second. Thought we would give it a try but we were a bit concerned at it never seemed busy. Good reviews on Yelp but that is not always indicative of much.  Interior is very plain and not much to get excited about. But the food turned out to be very good. We were there at 5:00 when they opened for dinner. 

We started out with Onion Bhaji which is basically pieces of onion, battered and deep fried. Dish was good but need to eat fast while it is still hot. 

Next we had Vegetable Pakoras. Which are basically mixed vegetables. fritter style and deep fried. This dish I did not care for. I have had much better other places. 

All the other dishes came out at the same time which really made the small booth crowded with all our wine glasses and bottles. 

Chicken Mushroom with Curry Sauce. Very good.

Lamb Do-piaza. Chunks of lamb in a sauce with extra onions and spices.  Lamb was tender and this again was a good dish.

Shrimp Saag, spinach and spices. Shrimp was OK but overcooked. Sauce was very good.

Navratan Korma. Mixed vegetables with nuts and spices. Another very good sauce.

Garlic Naan and Basmati Rice rounded out the meal.

While we were eating I noticed a lot of take out going through the door. I can understand because of the crappy parking situation here. There had to be at least 20 take out orders while we were there. Toward the end of our dinner a party of 8 came in and sat down.  And this was a Tuesday which generally is a slow night for restaurants. 

We will go back. We found the sauces were exceptionally good. Ambiance is so so but food is worth it.

Wines tonight were a NV Louis Roederer, Collection 242, Champagne. It was OK but nothing special. A NV La Raimbauder, France,  Sancerre  which was very nice and went well with most of the dishes. A 2012 Clos Pepe. Sta Rita Hills, Pinot Noir. Paired well . A 2019 Felino. Mendoza, Malbec. Wine was nice but bold and needed time.